Spartacus War Of The Damned Clip, And Creator Steven DeKnight Thanks The Fans

Spartacus: War of the Damned premieres tonight, bringing us the first installment in the Starz historical-fantasy series' final season. The clip we have to show you from tonight's premiere gives us a look at Naevia. See how she reacts when she's approached by some Romans. There's also a message of gratitude from series creator Steven S. DeKnight to the fans.

Naevia's been through some stuff, to put it mildly. And last season, we saw her dealing with her emotional issues after having been enslaved and brutally abused, but she seemed to come out of it ok, thanks in part to Crixus' love, patience and support. With that in mind, watch the video below and see how she's doing as War of the Damned picks up.

She's a fierce warrior! I like to think that her bravery and ferociousness is the result of more time to heal (months have passed since Vengeance) and having defeated Ashur at the end of last season. As sad as I am that Ashur's gone, his death seems like it was a big step forward for Naevia. And we'll see more of her in tonight's premiere.

Meanwhile, the video below has series creator Steven DeKnight thanking the fans for watching. He references the end, calling it "bittersweet."

"I want to thank all the loyal fans for following us through this journey and coming to its bittersweet conclusion. Without you, we couldn't have done this show and it wouldn't have been nearly as rewarding. So, from my heart and the heart of the cast and crew, gratitude."

Historically, Spartacus doesn't exactly get a happily ever after, but this series has always been a bit flexible when it comes to historical accuracy. And at the same time, the series has never shied away from killing off characters. So it's hard to predict how it will end for Spartacus or anyone else. While "bittersweet" doesn't give much away it does hint at an emotional roller coaster of an ending.

That's thinking a bit ahead though! Spartacus: War of the Damned premieres tonight (Friday, January 25) at 9:00 p.m. ET on Starz. Read our fairly spoiler-free review of the first couple of episodes here.